Don’t Be a New Year’s Idiot – Avoid the Hangover

The first New Year’s resolution for those with any common sense whatsoever should always be to spend New Year’s Day hangover free. However, intelligent decisions do not often go hand-in-hand when it comes to how people choose to celebrate the last official party of the year. For many, the ball will drop on sickness and regret, foul stomachs and the violent reverberations of hard liquor – sometimes worse.

Yet, while waking up with a head-splitting hangover will be the fate of many Americans choosing to ring in the New Year with more shots than sense, doctors say that staying hydrated is the key to taming the beast that might be moshing around inside your head after the party stops – so drink plenty of water.

Drinking a glass of water after each alcoholic beverage might not get you hammered drunk but it will keep you from getting dehydrated, says Aaron Michelfelder of the Loyola University Health System who recommends drinking no more than five alcoholic beverages for men and three for women during a three hour period.

If you just cannot bring yourself to moderate, chances are you are not going to feel very good when you finally crawl out of bed on New Year’s Day. And unfortunately, all of those supposed hangover remedies that have been prescribed by town drunks and witch doctors throughout the years will not be able to save you once your body hits the point of no return. "After you drink too much and wake up with a hangover, the most important thing is rehydration," Michelfelder said. "Drink water or drink Gatorade; either is fine."